Cooling mechanism



Feb. 16, 1932.

G. A. HILLERY 1,845,750

COOLING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet l O C O O O Q 0 Feb, 16, 1932. G. A. HILLERY COOLING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 an Ni NNNM \x\\\\v1ll 111 1 Gear 5 H. $1 3715? Feb. 16, 1932. G. A. HILLERY COOLING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 27, 1930 w m, a

P a s Patented Feb. 18, 1932 UNITED STATES 630361 A. BIBLE-BY, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA OOOIJNG xacmrur Application lied lcptember 87, 1930. Serial 80. 84,881.

The object of this invention is to provide a mechanism which will operate automatically and by which the air flowin into buildings, assembly rooms or other p ces may be a reduced in temperature so as to eliminate uncomfortable and enervating high temperatures within rooms or build n The inven tion provides a mechanism w ereb brine or other temperature-controlling liquid will be is caused to flow over a rescribed path and air will be drawn into t e a paratus to follow the flow of the brine an by commingling therewith, lose its heat. The invention seeks to provide an apparatus for the stated purll pose in which the air will be caused to circulate over a tortuous path and pass a plurality of baflles so as to be sub ected'constantly to the action of a cooling spray and be eventuall discharged at a reduced temperature.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fi 3.

I n carrying out the invention, a casing 1 is disposed upon a brine. tank 2 within which tank is a circulating cooling coil 3. The coil 3 cxtenls the full lcn th of the brine tank, as shown in Fig. 2, and it may be a direct expan- 43 sion ammonia coil or may be connected with a circulating pump so that cooling water or other agent may be positively driven through the same or it may merely ave its ends extended through the op osi'te end walls of the brine tank and expose to the atmosphere so he invention also seeks other ob- 3ects which will incidentally appear indhm course of the followin description. An ap- '11 form that air will circulate through thecoils. The brine tank is equipped with a cover 4 which is somewhat larger t an the bottom of the easing 1 so that any moisture which may com dense upon the walls of the casing will be caught and not ermitted to collect upon the floor of the coo ing room. Openings 5 are formed through the cover to rmit the condensate to drain into the brine tank and a flange or rib 6 is formed upon the cover in spaced relation to the casing so as to arrest any condensate which may tend to flowjrom the side edges of the cover. Connected with one end of the brine tank is an outlet pipe 7 which extends to the inlet side of a pum 8 which ma be of any preferred form an is illustrate conventionally, a return pipe 9 leading from the outlet side of the pump into the casing 1 so that the cooled brine will'be forced into the circulating system within the casing 1 after it has passed through the entire length of the brine tank. A complete cycle wil then, be established so as to effect continuous circulation of the brine and re vided at one end to permit inspection when necessary. This door 10 has its edges slidably enga d in cleats or re-entrant flanges on the casing at the sides of the door opcnin and is equipped at its up r end with a nger piece or andle 12, an at its lower end has an inset lip or flan 13 which is adapted to engage behind the wall of the casing at the lower end of the door openin a similar lip or flange 14 bein forme on the casing wall at the upper on or side of the door opening to 'enga behind the door so that the door will be e ectually held in proper position and esca of the brine or other coolinlgagent aroun the door will be pzevented. pipe 9 p into the casing low the door 10, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and within the casing is connected directly to a manifold 15 from which. spray pipes 16 rise to a desired height within the casing or cooling chamber. As best shown in Fig. 5, there are preferably three pi 16 and upon each pipe are five s ray 11022 as 17, the nozzles upon the respective pipes being relatively staggered so that the sprays issuing therefrom will be dispersed over a substantial area. Extending across the casing adjacent the upper ends of the spray pipes 16 is a deflector 18 which is curved rearwardly at its upper end and terminated short of the roof or ceiling of the casing while its lower end is also curved rearwardly or downwardly and tea lesser degree, the lower end of this deflector having a lip or flange 19 extending along the same to catch the moisture and brine which collect on the deflector and prevent dropping thereof directly across the stream of air flowing through the cooling chamber, draining to the sides of the chamber being-set up so as not to interfere with the circulation. For convenience the end of the casin g having the door will be referred to I has the front end. At the lower front corner .10

.ofthe casing is a curved guide plate or fender 20 which servesto direct the air in a curve toward the rear end of the casing and pre i vent the air flowing into the sharp corner where it would be apt to form eddies and frustrate the object of the invention. Rising from the supply pi e 9 between the end wall of the casing and t e spray pipes 16 is abranch j pipe-.21 which extends close to the ceiling 22 of the cooling chamber and is then turned rearwardly' to travel longitudinally of the casing immediately below the ceiling. as

shown at 23. The rear end of the pipe 23 is equipped with a transverse spray head 24 disposed close to the rear end wall of the casing. and also close tothe ceiling thereof, as best shown in Fig" 2. A series of intake funnels 25 is provided on the casing and these funnels may, of course, be provided in any desired number according to the size of the apparatus and the demands to which it is subjected, four funnels being shown in the present drawings. These funnels provide wide .intakes for the air which is to be treated and cate are rovided with flaring mouths, as indid at 26, the delivery ends of the funnels being fitted within flanges or collars 27 on the roof of the casing and being of less diameter than the mouths so that the flow of air will be accelerated as the air approaches and enters the casing. A branch pipe 28 rises from the branch 23 below the delivery end of each funnel and said pipes enter the respective funnels, as shown in Fig. 4, each being coupled within the respective funnel to a spray head 29 extending toward the rear wall of the funnel and equipped withspray nozzles 30 which are directed downwardly so that the liquid issuing therefrom will pass downwardly toward and into the casing and has its and turned upwardly, as shown at 32,

said upturned end having a fitting 33 and a manifold 34 which are equipped with inwardly directed spray nozzles 35, as shown, the fitting having a single nozzle and the manifold 34 and spray head 29 each having three nozzles. It will thus be seen that as the air enters the funnels it is at once subjected to the action of sprays issuing from the nozzles 35 so that it will be accelerated in its flow and will be broken up and modified in temperature by contact with the spray, the nozzles being so located that their force is applied over the entire cross-sectional area of the body of air. It will also be noted that spray nozzles are located at the points where the direction of flow of the air changes so that the force ofthe spray is exerted to aid in deflecting the air as'well as to reduce the temperature of the same.

An upper baflle or partition 36 is provided in the upper portion of the casing or cooling chamber and this partition extends from the upper rear corner of the casing under the spra nozzle head 24 downwardly toward the eflector 18, terminating in spaced rela tion to said deflector. A spray head or manifold 37 is connected with the branch pipe 23 and extends downwardly and rearwardly therefrom approximately at an angle of fort -five degrees, the spray nozzles 3E1 there on being directed downwardly and forwardly and so disposed that the liquid issumg therefrom will pass to opposite sides of the deflector 18. The air which passes in through the funnels will enter the top of the casing or cooling chamber and the funnel at the front end of the casing will discharge its air at the front of the deflector 18 while the of the partition 36 is disposed below and in spaced relation to the upturned end member 39 of a false ceiling 40, which extends to the rear end of the casing and is sodisposed that the moisture collecting thereon will be directed to a drain 41 whereby it will pass down to the floor of the cooling chamber and eventually escape into the brine tank through a drain outlet 42. The provision of this false ceiling 40 with the upturned end member 39 permits the desired circulation of the air to take place and serves to collect the moisture and brine and return the same to the brine tank so that excessive humidity in the air eventually discharged from the casing will be avoided. The drain 41 which has just been mentioned is defined by a vertical plate 43 dis osed at the corner of the casing and curve in its horizontal dimension so as to present a stream line to the air and avoid eddying of the same, the lower portion of the plate 43 being cut away to define an opening 44 whereby the brine at the rear of the plate may find its way to the drain 42. The drain 42 is defined by a ring or collar depending from the cover 4 of the brine tank to a point below the normal level of the brine in the tank so that aerationof the brine will be avoided and corrosion of the cooling coil will be minimized. To prevent eddying of the brine which may collect upon the floor of the cooling chamber as it flows to the drain 42, deflecting strips 45 are provided on the floor of the chamber at the opposite sides or the drain, as best shown in Fig. 3.

From what has been said, it will be understood that the air flowing in through the several funnels is at once acted upon by sprays of brine or other li uid, or possibly gas, and the flow of this fluic agent will at once accelerate the flow of the air so that it will pass over the prescribed course, flowing downwardly over the partition 36 and downwardly past the deflector 18 and then rearwardly below the false ceiling 40 to eventually pass out through a discharge opening '46 in the side of the casing near the rear end thereof. The air initially is flowing at a much slower rate than the spray from the several nozzles inasmuch as the brine or other agent is sub ject to the pressure of the pump 8. The air, therefore, tends to resist the flow of the brine and in doing so commingles with the brine so that the brine absorbs the heat from the air and is, in turn, broken up or rarefied so that the air will become laden with the brine. The

operation and this, in turn, will regulate the humidity imparted to the air as it flows through the cooling chamber. These thermotatic controlling devices are well known and are in common use for automatically controlling temperature and form no art of the present invention and are, there ore, not illustrated. As the air flows rearwardly below the false ceiling 40, it flows over the floor of the cooling chamber which is, of course, covered with brine dropping thereto from the air and from the several nozzles so that the heat remaining in the air after it asses the nozzles 17 will be further reduced y the action of the brine upon the floor of the cooling chamber. Before the air can escape, it must fiowpast bafiles 46 which extend vertically and are disposed at an angle to the path of the air, as shown best in Fig. 3. The bafiles 46 lead directly to similar battles 47 which are provided in a greater number than the bellies 46 and are arranged substantially at a right angle thereto. The rear ends of all these bailies are provided with hooks or ra -entrant flanges 48 which check the How of brine adboring to and condensing on the several bafiies so that said brine cannot pass around the edges of the baflies to obstruct the flow of the air but will drain to the floor of the cooling chamber. At the rear. of the'bafiies 47 are baflles 49 which are similar to the first-described battles but are provided in greater numbers than the baflles 47 and substantially at a right angle thereto so that the course of the air will be again diverted, and immediatel at the rear of the bafiles 49 are vertical afiles 50 which are disposed parallel with the sides of the cooling chamber. At the rear of the bafiles 50 are horizontal battles 51 which are substantially V-shaped and are provided with drains 52 whereby thewater of condensation and adhering brine will be turned to the sides of the casing and dischar ed onto the floor of the same so as to avoi obstructing the flow of the air. These several bafiles may be constructed as units, the several bafile plates having their ends secured to frame plates, indicated at 53, and then the completed unit pushed into the casing through an opening 54 in the side of the same, sai opening being covered by a door plate 55 which is fastened to the si e of the casing, as will be understood upon reference to Figs. 1 and 3, and will serve to prevent premature discharge of the cooled air and escape of the brine or other temperatureregulatin a cut.

Immediate y at the rear of the horizontal battles 51, arcuate defiectin plates 56 and 57 are provided which curve rom the baflies 51 around to points adjacent the drain 42, as-

shown clearly in Fig. 3, and at the terminals of these deflecting plates or bafiles 56 and 57 are horizontal baffles 58 which extend across the outlet opening 46 for the full height of said opening. These bafiies 58 are inverted V-shaped in cross section, as seen in Fig. 4, and are provided at their centers and at their inner edges with re-entrant flanges 59 to col lect the water of condensation and at their front edges are provided with similar flanges 60 on their under sides for the same purpose, it being understood that the cooled air with its moisture content will impinge against the under sides of the outer portions of these bafiles. A deflecting plate 61 is provided between the baflies 51 and the front ends of the baffles 58, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the air will not be permitted to pass directly to the bullies 58 nor collect in the corner defined by said baflles and the adjacent side wall of the casing to form eddies. Horizontal divider plates 62 extend from the rear of the baflles 51 and intersect the forward portions of the deflector plates 56 and 57. The cooled air, as has been stated, will discharge through the opening 46f past the baffles 58 and will then circulate within the room or building, the temperature of which is to be reduced. The apparatus is very eflicient in action and needs little attention. A ver perceptible lowering of the temperature wil be accomplished in a short time and the operation of the apparatus will not be resumed until the temperature again reaches the maximum, whereupon the pum will automatically start and cause the circu ation of the brine to again lower the temperature. While -I have described the apparatus as intended for reducin tem rature in a buildin or room, it is to that it may be used for heating. To accomplish this result, superheated steam or other ighly heated agent may be circulated through the coils 3 to raise the temperature 5 of the fluid in the tank and which is to be circulated through the several pipes and spray nozzles. If desired, the air thus circulated may be made to carry some moisture content so as to impart a desired degree of humidity to the air in the building or room.

A trap door 63 is provided at one end of the brine tank so as to facilitate the replenishing of the supply of brine or inspection of the cooling cm s when such replenishing or inspection is desirable.

Having. thus described the invention, I claim:

1. An apparatus for the purpose set forth comprising a casin ,a false ceiling within the casing having a ree end spaced from the front end of the casing, a deflecting plate above said ceiling and converging toward the free end of the same from an upper rear corner of the casing, means for admitting air to the casing above said deflecting plate, and

means for discharging a cooling agent into the air under pressure whereby to accelerate the circulation of the same, the air and cooling agent flowing over said deflecting plate and back under the false ceiling to a discharge opening in the casing.

2. An apparatus for the purpose set forth comprising a casing, a fals'eceiling within the casing extending-from the rear end thereof and terminating short of the front end thereof, an upturned member at the end of the false ceiling, a funnel rising from the easing and in communication therewith to admit air thereto, a deflecting plate extending from an upper rear corner of the casing to said upturned member and terminating adjacent and below the edge of said member, a supply pipe entering the casing for delivering a cooling agent under pressure, spray nozzles connected with said pipe and dis scd, within the funnel and delivering a coo ing agent under pressure in the direction of flow of the air, and other spray nozzles connected with said pipe and arranged to deliver a cooling agent under the false ceiling.

3. Apparatus for the pur ose set forth comprising a casing, a funne on the casing arranged to deliver air through the top of the casing, a supply pipe entering the casing at the front end of the same for delivers un erstoodd ing a cooling agent under ressure, a ray nozzles connected with sai ipe an arranged within the funnel to de iver a cooling agent in the direction of flow of the air a manifold connected with the supply ipe within the casin spray pipes rising rom said manifold ad acent the end of the casing, spray nozzles arranged u n the several spray pipes in staggered relation and disposed to ischnrge a cooling agent into the air in the direction of flow of the air, a false ceiling in the casing extending from the rear end thereof to a point above said manifold, and a deflectin plate above said ceiling diverting air and cooling agent to the front end of the ceiling.

4. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, a casing, a supply pipe entering the cusing to deliver a temperature-regulating medium under pressure, funnels on the casing to deliver air thereinto, spray nozzles connected with the supply pipe and arranged within the funnels to deliver the temperature-regulating medium in the direction of flow of the air, a plurality'of spra nozzles connected with the sup 1y pipe ad acent an end of the casing, a defl ctor arranged adjacent said nozzles and havin lower ends curved rearwarcfi plate in the upper portion of t e casing leading from an upper rear corner of the same downwardly to said deflector and terminatin short of the deflector, spray nozzles connecte with the supply pi adjacent the upper end of the deflector an arranged to dehver temperature-controlling medium at the front and the rear of the deflector, a false ceiling within the casing below the deflecting plate and provided at its inner end with a guide member extending upwardly and terminating adjacent and above the end of the deflecting plate, means for discharging cold air from the casin and means for discharging the condensed temperature-controlling medium from the casing.

5. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, a casing having an air outlet in one side at one end,,a false ceiling within the casing, means for admitting air to the casing above said ceiling, means for discharging a=ltemperature-controlling medium under pressure into the air, a drain at one end of the false ceiling leading therefrom to the bottom of the casing to permit escape of condensate, a drain through the bottom of the casing, and a plurality of baflles disposed between the false ceiling and the floor of the casing and extending alternately in opposite directions and alternately vertically and horizontally, some of the baflles extending across the air outlet of the casing.

6. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, a casing, a false ceiling in the casing, means for admitting air to the casing, means its upper and for discharging a temperature-regulating me dium into the air at various points to control the circulation of the air, a plurality of baffles arran ed between the false ceiling and the floor of t e casing at and adjacent the rear end of the same, some of said baflles extending vertically and some horizontally, the vertical- 1y extending baflles being disposed at right angles to each other, curved deflecting plates extending from the horizontal baflles rearwardly toward the outlet 0 enin of the casing, a drain through the oor o the casin adjacent the outlet of the same, horizontal baflles extending across the air outlet, and baffles disposed adjacent the drain to prevent eddying at the same.

In testimony whereof I affix m si ature.

, GEORGE A. HILLER 1.5.] 

